I love him so totally, completely, sometimes it threatens to overwhelm me. Sometimes I think-No. I won't write about that.

ALICIAAlicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet - and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can't bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain.

Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word.

THEOForensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia's silence goes far deeper than he first thought.

And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?

Morning, I am so unbelievably excited to be sharing my review of The Silent Patient, be sure to check out Nicki’s review over at Nicki’s Book Blog.

The Silence is over

✮ My Review ✮

This is a review that I do not know if I can write. When a book has been given so much hype as this book, you wonder will it deliver? Well by jove it did and so much more!

The story which follows Alicia (Fantastic name by the way) is found to have shot her husband Gabriel in the face, but no one knows why she did, she has not spoken a word since that fateful day. We are guided through her journal leading us to that day.

Theo, is a psychotherapist, and he wants Alicia’s case, he thinks he can break her silence, that she has kept for years.

This book really is mindblowing and rather quite shocking. I will not talk about the plot because like most books I read you have to go in blind. The book hooks you in with the past and wants to keep a tight hold of you as we travel through the dual storyline.

I feel nervous throughout the whole book, I was not sure where I would be lead. Would the silence be broken? Do I want to know the truth? Will we all make it out alive? Will I now become silent? (Haha as if this could happen!)

I was fascinated by Alicia and her silence, the pages just flowed and I did not and could not give up on her. I was captivated and I had read this in two sittings (Life got in the way). I think I caught a fair few flies when reading this too! I mean jeez!! It is a dark thrilling and uncomfortable read but well worth the time invested into it.

I’m not going to divulge anything more, except there comes a point in this story when I had to STOP reading, take a huge breath and tip my hat to the author and think “Holy Motherf*cker, I did NOT see that coming”, and from that point onwards I read the book with a wry smile on my face, shaking my head in admiration and respect to Alex Michaelides for creating a story which I believe will be HUGE when it is published next February 2019.

It’s incredibly difficult to believe that The Silent Patient is this author’s debut novel. This is a stunning psychological thriller that is finely paced and throws up twists and turns that make the reader feel a little sea sick at times.

For me, the absolute genius within this story is the author’s creation of Alicia’s voice; told through her diaries and exposing a damaged individual who is both fascinating and terrifying in equal parts.

I guarantee you won’t want to put this book down once you start it! The pacing of the plot is absolutely perfect and the reader is sucked into the lives of both Alicia and Theo as they narrate their stories. I have to say that there is a brilliant twist that I’m hoping will come as a complete surprise to the majority of its readers but that I did guess pretty quickly due to my huge consumption of psychological thrillers in the past. Saying that, it did not affect my enjoyment of The Silent Patient one little bit as I completely appreciated the build up to the shocking truth about the night of Gabriel’s murder.This is the ultimate page turner-absorbing, mesmerising and utterly unputdownable!

AlexMichaelides bring his characters and scenes to life in vivid colour, just like one of Alicia’s paintings; he keeps you invested in their actions and feelings but provokes equally strong emotions in you the reader.

Until next time xxx

Follow the whole tour here

Thanks to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for the tour invite and the author for a copy of their book in return for my honest and unbiased review

About Alex Michaelides

Born in Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot father and English mother, I studied English literature at Cambridge University and got my MA in screenwriting at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. I wrote the film The Devil You Know (2013) starring Rosamund Pike and co-wrote The Con is On (2018), starring Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Parker Posey and Sofia Vergara. THE SILENT PATIENT is my first novel.